If and when an iPhone update arrives this year, it may do so with a small suffix and some new carrier friends. Mainly, you can expect an "iPhone 4S" in September, with support for Sprint and T-Mobile.

The details, as they are wont to be, are scant and come from an analyst's recent research note. In this case, analyst Peter Misek, of Jefferies & Co., who writes in Forbes that there will be nary a hint of 4G connectivity and that the phone is actually a "Backup plan" phone.

Why a backup plan? Because the LTE tech Apple was testing in prototypes did not meet that company's well-known strict performance and user experience quality standards. In other words, which means I'm making an educated guess, it sounds like the battery was being sucked dry in a manner that was far too fast and fleeting.

As AppleInsider, ourselves and other tech sites have noted, these rumors are in line with what we've heard since about April: Apple has delayed the phone, it will have a slightly larger screen, and will look similar to the current model. A faster A5 processor like the one nestled within the iPad 2 and an 8MP camera round out the rest of today's rumor mill grist. [Forbes via AppleInsider]